Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to keep their World Cup tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27

The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to achieve a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and keep their faint chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a modest target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine runs from the last six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a exciting victory for the Lankan team.

The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them level on four points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, experienced a fifth successive loss since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

While the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a poor fielding effort.

They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She achieved a first international half-century, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and sharing an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back into the game, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over triggering a Lankan downfall from 174-4 to 202 complete.

While batting second, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre opening overs and they were later diminished to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of Bangladesh heading into the last two innings segments, with just 12 additional runs required.

However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed only three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a handful of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the final over, held her nerve. The opposition could not.

There will be numerous questions about the team's batting performance. They might well have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the target was much lower.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient purpose from the start, accumulating runs at under 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, suffering a initial wicket loss, and finally leaving themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their chances in the field, that 203-run target objective would have been significantly smaller.

It required them three attempts to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty failing to take a difficult chance behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the last attempt flying right to Jhilik at cover position, before ultimately being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, although the latter was a somewhat unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are not at all a one-off. They've dropped 14 catches from a potential 27 at this competition and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are typically moving in the correct path – they are playing in just their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a glaring concern which requires improvement.